Thousands of South Louisianians who received Road Home grants also have started the process of seeking additional money to elevate their homes or to make them more hurricane resistant. That's smart rebuilding.

But not all homeowners who may be eligible for the extra aid have let the state know that they are interested in it, and those residents face a March 10 deadline to do so. People who chose Option 1 to rebuild or repair their homes are the only ones eligible for this aid. It's to their advantage to take full advantage of these programs and send in the paperwork by the deadline.

The elevation aid is part of an expanded effort the Louisiana Recovery Authority launched last year to get more financial help in the hands of homeowners who want to raise their rebuilt homes. The Road Home had originally capped elevation aid at $30,000 per recipient. But the state in April said it would raise that limit to up to $100,000 for qualifying owners who used their Road Home grant to rebuild their property. That's about 100,000 people, officials said.

Considering that the costs of elevating a home can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars, the additional aid should give many homeowners the necessary money to green light a project that most could not afford on their own.

Separately, the state last year launched a part of the original Road Home program that will provide up to $7,500 for homeowners to complete storm resistant improvements, such as installing storm shutters, bolting roofs to walls and elevating electrical panels and air-conditioning units. The state also sent forms in November to those eligible homeowners asking them to indicate whether they wanted to participate.

State officials said people interested in the elevation money, the Individual Mitigation Measures grant or both need to return those forms by the March 10 deadline. The deadline is just for expressing interest in the money, not a deadline for completing or having started the work. People seeking more information on these efforts can call program representatives at 1-877-824-8312, or e-mail hazardmitigation@mitigatela.org.

Officials said people who return their forms after March 10 may still receive funding, but only on a first-come, first-served basis.

The smart move, obviously, is to send the forms back on time to avoid further delays.